Daily roundup 8 April: Holiday hunger, FGM guidance and social mobility

Children in poorer areas are going hungry during holiday periods when they do not get free school meals, the Church in Wales has warned. The BBC reports that calls have been made for more to be done to ensure children who receive free school meals are catered for during holidays.?


?The government has released multi-agency guidelines on female genital mutilation for those with statutory duties to safeguard children and vulnerable adults. It said the guidance should be considered together with other relevant safeguarding guidance.?


Young people who do not go to university are “overlooked and left behind”, according to a report by the House of Lords social mobility committee. The BBC reports the committee said young people are let down by an over-emphasis on higher education and a lack of training options.


Schoolchildren are only drinking a quarter of the water they need and turning to fizzy drinks instead, public health experts have warned. The Daily Mail reports data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows 11- to 18-year-olds are drinking only two small glasses of water a day – about 435ml of the recommended 1.8 litres.?


?Children’s charity Kidscape has criticised a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to prosecute two parents whose baby was found dead after they allegedly went on a 24-hour drinking binge and couldn’t find him the next morning. The Mirror reports that Matthew Neil and Kim Smart-Neil were arrested and charged with neglect and manslaughter after one-month-old Freddie was found dead in his older brother’s bedroom. The CPS dropped the charges after deciding there was not enough evidence to prosecute.